When Liam Coen was hired by the Bucs to be their offensive coordinator this season, there was thought that Coen may fill some of the coaching vacancies on the offensive side with people he was familiar with from his time spent with the Rams and Kentucky. That was certainly the case when Tampa Bay hired Kevin Carberry as their offensive line coach as Carberry had the same role in Los Angeles in 2022 when Coen was offensive coordinator.

That continued with this next hiring, too. Per ESPN’s Adam Schefter, the Bucs have hired Brian Picucci as their assistant offensive line coach. Picucci was the quality control coach with Coen on the Kentucky Wildcats last season so he’s bringing another coach he’s worked with before, this time at the collegiate level, although Picucci has coached as the NFL level as well. The history between Picucci and Coen goes even further than just a season together at Kentucky.

Bucs OC Coen And Picucci Have Much Familiarity

Bucs OC Liam Coen – Photo by: Matt Matera/PR

Picucci has been coaching football in some sort of capacity for over 28 years. A large portion of that stint came with UMass, where he was in 1998 and 1999 and then from 2004 to 2012. He started out as a run game coordinator and offensive line coach before eventually getting promoted to offensive coordinator.

In his time at UMass while still with the line, Coen was the quarterback of the team from 2005 to 2008. A season later, Picucci became the offensive coordinator.

Other stops along the way for Picucci include Southern Connecticut State, Northeastern, Central Connecticut State, Widener University, Becker College, Maine, the Detroit Lions and the NFL Alumni Academy. Picucci has had a number of different roles and positions.

During his stop with the Lions, he was offensive assistant/assistant tight ends coach, so he is well versed with pretty much every group on offense.

Bucs Have Pieces To Work With On The Offensive Line

It’ll be up to Coen, Carberry and Picucci to get the best of out of Tampa Bay’s offensive line. A top priority should be to improve the overall running game as the Bucs’ have been last in the NFL in rushing yards per game over the previous two seasons.

The good aspect of this is the Bucs’ line has done a solid job pass blocking and have core talent that can work together and excel for several years. We all know about Tristan Wirfs, who is one of the best left tackles in the game. His good buddy Luke Goedeke at right tackle took tremendous steps and looks to be an anchor on that side.

Bucs RT Luke Goedeke and RG Cody Mauch – Photo courtesy of the Tampa Bay Buccaneers

Where work needs to be done is on the interior offensive line, starting at center. Don’t be surprised if there’s an upgrade at that position as many have fallen in love with Oregon draft prospect Jackson Powers-Johnson. Robert Hainsey is fairly average at center, having his ups and downs, but it’s certainly a position where the Bucs want to upgrade.

There is plenty of promise in Cody Mauch at right guard, who is expected to take a big step forward next season. Mauch was already playing better as a rookie than Goedeke did at guard the year before. So if he can progress the way Goedeke did from year one to year two, Mauch could truly become a powerhouse on the Bucs’ offensive line. Mauch may even get some consideration at center.

At left guard, Matt Fieler was eventually replaced by Aaron Stinnie, who of course started during the playoff run when the Bucs won Super Bowl LV. Feiler likely won’t return, and Stinnie is an unrestricted free agent this season, however he won’t have the biggest market. It wouldn’t hurt getting Stinnie back in the mix to compete for a starting role, but finding another free agent or draft pick to fill the role would also suffice.

We will see how different they can look with a goal of improving the run and playing a more physical brand of football. Hopefully these coaches can get it done.